1984 LJN Toys Dune Catalog

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It's hard to believe that toy makers thought the next merchandising blitz would come from a David Lynch film but that's exactly what happened in 1984. Dune got the full treatment with colouring books, bed sheets and of course a selection of action figures produced by LJN. The movie wasn't particularly kid (or for that matter general public) friendly and as a result the spice warriors of Dune resided in the clearance aisle.



What's perplexing to me is most of this stuff got made, yet the gigantically more kid friendly "Last Starfighter" toy line never saw the light of day. Aggghhh!

Check out the 1984 LJN Dune Catalog here.

More Cancelled Toy Lines:

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[acrovader]

Dune doesn't seem to scream 'ACTION FIGURE'. I bet Frank Herbert didn't like the idea of kids toys for Dune. Most kids back then probably thought the movie too slow, too weird, and too gloomy and weren't clamoring for action figures. I saw the movie when I was about ten. I strangely liked it and I remember these toys on toy shelves but never really desired to own any. I read somewhere that Frank Herbert thought the failure of the movie at the box office was due to the huge success of Return of the Jedi.

But I agree, you'd think the Last Starfighter or Krull would have action figures before Dune.

[Damned_Dirty_Ape]

Not really into Dune nor the LJN figure line, but that black rifle pictured is a repainted Tuska rifle. (Thundercats, also LJN)

[ScottA]

I still don't get that movie, lol.

[Damned_Dirty_Ape]

I still don't get that movie, lol.

There are edited or uncensored scenes floating around online involving that bloated grotesque Baron character, and they are very disturbing, to say the least.

I'll have to give it another try as the film bored me to tears as a kid. I did really want that sandworm, though.

[J.B.]

Loved the novel, movie and toys. Only problem for me was that I saw the movie before reading the novel. It was the only time I was ever handed a glossary sheet before entering the theater. A bit challenging to read the definition of Kwisatz Haderach in the dark. But major props to Lynch for making it happen.

[J.B.]

They also changed the look of the released Sardauker Warrior to this:

[LordMudd]

To quickly summarize: The spice was oil and the politics of the story was from the middle east leading up to WW1. As for Last Starfighter, figures were planned and advertised but never produced. I have seen Krull several times over the years and feel the photography is not of sufficient quality to support merchandising.

CCC.

[Bruce Banner]

The book is a masterpiece of SF, the film is a wonderfully stylish if somewhat odd interpretation of it.
The extended "Alan Smithee" cut restores a lot of material cut from the theatrical version.

I always liked the toys. Never owned any though.

[Hedji]

The Dune Hype at the time worked on me. After Star Wars had come and gone, and I had grown a bit, it felt like my first introduction to "serious" Sci Fi. I was still collecting toys at the time, and would've bought these too, but they looked a bit bulbous and chunky, and I didn't like that they were of a different scale than everything that had come before, so I passed.

I recently re-visited the film a month ago, and really, it is quite the hot mess. How they thought this would work for kids, I'll never understand.

[dee T.]

I still have my stilgar and feyd action figures.